Covington Ky
Mar, 19. 1862
Govenor Maggofin
D Sir,

The grand jury in this city during the present term, indicted B. H Elliston, a Hotel Keeper of the City of Eighteen years standing, for Keeping a Tippling House; — This legallytrue but in point of fact untrue — Mr Elliston Keeps the best House in Covington and has for years; no man in Ky would be further than he would be in trying to evdate the Revenue laws of the State, and the Indictment is simply for Keeping a house without license which you Know however well and orderly Kept, the law, makes it per see a Tippling house if Kept without a license.. Mr Elliston thought his license had not expired, he saw the clerk of the county court (Judge Perrin) who informed him he would give information when a renewal of his license was necessary and promised to look to it for him — He relied on the Clerk, and heforgot it — and hence the indictment — as the penalty is a high one, and the

cost large — M^r Elleston, has thought it advisable to ask a pardon or release of the penalty [...][...] this will save considerable to him and in these days of "Hard times" a penny is worth "Salvation" — You will remember I have troubled you but little since you have been Gov^r about matters like the present — but I know B H Elliston well, and can (as I now do) vouch for his truthfulness and integrity. I therefore ask you "to give relief and Heaven will bless your store"

Thes ^above^ letter is to you as Governor. — I now write you, as a citizen — How vastly difficult ^is^ our country's condition than that which it was, in when I first saw you, in a democratic Convention more than Twenty long years ago — andyou made a democratic speech in a large Blanket coat" how well do I remember it — circumstances, I need not refer to them, for which neither you or I was able responsible caused us to differ in choice of candidates in our party some years ago